System

ABSTRACT

A technique capable of immediately reporting to an operator an occurrence of abnormality in an electric tool is provided. A communication terminal includes a communication-terminal-side control unit that determines whether abnormality has occurred in any of electric tools based on information acquired from the electric tools via wireless communication. When the communication-terminal-side control unit determines the occurrence of abnormality in any one of the electric tools, the occurrence of abnormality in the electric tool is reported by at least one of a report unit included in the electric tools other than the electric tool in which the occurrence of abnormality is determined and a report unit included in the communication terminal.

CROSS REFERENCE

This is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/919,830,filed on Mar. 13, 2018, which is a Continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/116,360, filed on Aug. 3, 2016, now, U.S. Pat.No. 9,940,813, Apr. 10, 2018, which is an U.S. National Phase under 35U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT/JP2015/050505, filedon Jan. 9, 2015, which claims the benefit of Japanese Application No.2014-019445, filed on Feb. 4, 2014, the entire contents of each arehereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an abnormality reporting system and anelectric tool, and a communication terminal.

BACKGROUND ART

A portable air compressor (compressor) used in a power tool or the likeis a known example of the electric tool. Also, an impact driver is alsoknown as an example of the electric tool for use in fastening screws,bolts, and so on. Also, a portable cutter (circular saw) is known as anexample of the electric tool for cutting a workpiece with disc-shapedblades by rotating the blades. Also, a desktop cutter (desktop circularsaw) is known as an example of the electric tool for cutting a workpiecemounted on a base portion with disc-shaped blades by rotating theblades.

Such portable electric tools are brought into a construction site andthe like and used, in relatively many cases. However, the electric toolsmay be left in the site during break time such as lunch, or after thework of the day, in some cases, resulting in a case in which theelectric tool may be stolen. Accordingly, it is desired to improve thesecurity of the electric tools.

Note that an air compressor including a compressed air generation unitdriven by a motor is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1.

RELATED ART DOCUMENT Patent Document

-   Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication    No. 2004-300996

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

In the past method, it has not been possible to immediately report to anoperator when abnormality occurred in the electric tool or theoccurrence of abnormality in the electric tool. It is an object of thepresent invention to provide a technique capable of immediatelyreporting the occurrence of abnormality in the electric tool to theoperator.

Means for Solving the Problems

The typical ones of the inventions disclosed in the present applicationwill be briefly described as follows.

An abnormality reporting system according to an embodiment of thepresent invention includes a plurality of electric tools, and acommunication terminal connected to the electric tools via wirelesscommunication. Also, the communication terminal includes acommunication-terminal-side control unit that determines whetherabnormality has occurred in any of the electric tools based oninformation acquired from the electric tools via the wirelesscommunication. Also, when the communication-terminal-side control unitdetermines that abnormality has occurred in any of the electric tools,the occurrence of abnormality in the electric tool is reported by atleast one of a report unit included in the electric tool other than theelectric tool in which the occurrence of abnormality is determined and areport unit included in the communication terminal.

Also, in another embodiment, an electric tool includes a working unit,and an operation terminal unit connected to the working unit viawireless communication to transmit/receive a control signal to and fromthe working unit, in which the operation terminal unit is connected tothe working unit and a working unit of an electric tool other than theworking unit via the wireless communication, and the operation terminalunit determines whether abnormality has occurred in any of the electrictools based on information acquired from the working unit. Also, whenthe operation terminal unit determines the occurrence of abnormality inany of the electric tools, the operation terminal unit transmits asignal for reporting the occurrence of abnormality to the operationterminal unit, and the electric tool other than the electric tool inwhich the occurrence of abnormality is determined or the working unit.

Also, in another embodiment, a communication terminal connected to aplurality of electric tools via wireless communication includes acommunication-terminal-side control unit that determines whetherabnormality has occurred in any of the electric tools based oninformation acquired from the electric tools via the wirelesscommunication. Also, when the communication-terminal-side control unitdetermines the occurrence of abnormality in any of the electric tools,the communication-terminal-side control unit generates a report requestsignal for reporting the occurrence of abnormality in the electric toolto at least one of a report unit included in the communication terminaland a report unit included in the electric tool other than the electrictool in which the occurrence of abnormality is determined.

Effects of the Invention

The effects obtained by typical ones of the inventions disclosed in thepresent application will be briefly described below.

According to a representative embodiment of the present invention, theoccurrence of abnormality in the electric tool can be reportedimmediately to the operator.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of appearance of an abnormality reportingsystem according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram showing an example of an abnormalityreporting system according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a tool management setting screendisplayed on a display unit of a communication terminal according to theembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a tool managing screen displayed on adisplay unit of the communication terminal according to the embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating an example of appearance of anair compressor provided as an example of an electric tool according tothe embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a planarstructure of the air compressor of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating the air compressor of FIG. 5 in apartly broken manner;

FIG. 8 is a side view illustrating an example structure of the aircompressor of FIG. 5 when a cover is removed; and

FIG. 9 illustrates an outline of overall processing according to theembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that componentshaving the same function are denoted by the same reference charactersthroughout the drawings for describing the embodiment, and therepetitive description thereof will be omitted.

An abnormality reporting system according to an embodiment of thepresent invention includes a communication terminal (e.g., a smartphone), and a plurality of electric tools (e.g., an air compressor, animpact driver, a circular saw, and a desktop circular saw). Thecommunication terminal is connected to respective electric tools viawireless communication. Then, the communication terminal acquiresoperation information (which indicates whether the electric tools are inoperation) from the respective electric tools and determines whetherabnormality has occurred in any of the electric tools based on theacquired operation information. Then, when the communication terminaldetermines that abnormality has occurred in any of the electric tools,the occurrence of abnormality in the electric tool is reported by atleast one of a report unit of the communication terminal itself and areport unit of the electric tool other than the electric tool in whichabnormality has occurred. Thus, the occurrence of abnormality in theelectric tool can be reported immediately to the operator.

<Overall Structure>

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of appearance of an abnormality reportingsystem according to an embodiment of the present invention. Asillustrated in FIG. 1, the abnormality reporting system includes aplurality of electric tools (such as an air compressor 10 which is anexample of the electric tool, a desktop circular saw 200, a circular saw300, or an impact driver 400), and a communication terminal 100connected to the respective electric tools via the wirelesscommunication. A codeless electric tool that operates by receiving powerfrom a built-in battery is also included in the examples of the electrictools. In addition, an electric tool that operates by receiving powerfrom an AC power source is also included in the examples of the electrictools.

The communication terminal 100 includes, for example, an operationterminal (operation terminal unit) which is a terminal device in theshape of a remote controller dedicated for remotely operating theelectric tools, and a portable universal information processing terminaldevice which has a function other than the function of remotelyoperating the electric tools (working units), such as a smart phone, atablet-type terminal device, or a smart watch (including a bracelet typeterminal device having a communication function).

Also, the communication terminal 100 and each of the electric tools areconnected with each other via the wireless communication. Each of theelectric tools is stopped and is in a locked state in which an operationtoward each of the electric tools is locked, until the connection withthe communication terminal 100 via the wireless communication isestablished.

Also, in the communication terminal 100, an abnormality reportingapplication that enables a report of the occurrence of abnormality inany of the electric tools is installed.

The respective electric tools are registered in the communicationterminal 100 through predetermined authentication processing executed byentering a security key managed by the abnormality reportingapplication.

Then, the communication terminal 100 establishes the connection with allof the registered electric tools via the wireless communication andbroadcasts a locked-state release request signal to release the lockedstate to all of the electric tools with which the connection via thewireless communication is established. Then, the locked states of therespective electric tools are collectively released after theestablishment of the connection via the wireless communication.Accordingly, it is possible to save labor of individually releasing thelocked states of various types of electric tools.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram showing an example of the abnormalityreporting system according to the embodiment of the present invention.As illustrated in FIG. 2, the abnormality reporting system includes, forexample, an air compressor 10 which is an example of the electric tool,and the communication terminal 100. Also, the air compressor 10 which isan example of the electric tool includes a motor 16, a display unit 37,a body side communication unit 39, a controller 62, an operation switch64, a report unit 70, and the like. Also, the communication terminal 100includes a power source unit 110, a communication-terminal-side controlunit 120, an image processing unit 130, a display unit 140, an inputunit 150, a communication-terminal-side communication unit 160, and areport unit 170.

Also, the communication terminal 100 is implemented by predeterminedhardware and software. For example, the communication terminal 100includes a processor, a memory, and the like, and a program on thememory executed by the processor allows the communication terminal 100to function.

The input unit 150 of the communication terminal 100 accepts operationfrom the operator. The input unit 150 includes a touch panel, buttons,and switches. The input unit 150 inputs an instruction signalcorresponding to an input signal accepted by the operation or use by theoperator to the communication-terminal-side control unit 120.

Upon activation of the abnormality reporting application installed inthe communication terminal 100, the communication terminal 100 displaysa tool management setting screen (which is described later and in FIG.3) on the display unit 140. Hereinafter, the tool management settingscreen will be described with reference to FIG. 3. The tool managementsetting screen displays an input button 301 for inputting the number ofsimultaneously operating tools, a compressor selection button 302, atool management setting button 303, and a management start button 304.

When the tool management setting button 303 accepts an input, theprocessing of newly registering the electric tool managed by theabnormality reporting application is performed through theauthentication processing. The authentication processing is performedby, for example, determining whether a correct security key is input tothe communication terminal 100 after the connection via the wirelesscommunication is established between the electric tool to be newlyregistered and the communication terminal 100. Then, the name of theauthenticated electric tool is associated with identificationinformation of the electric tool (e.g., a BD (Bluetooth (registeredtrademark) Device) address, or an MAC (Media Access Control) address) tobe registered in a storage unit (not illustrated) of the communicationterminal 100.

After the input button 301 for inputting the number of simultaneouslyoperating tools accepts the input, the input unit 150 accepts the inputof the number representing the number of electric tools scheduled tooperate simultaneously. Also, although not illustrated, the input unit150 accepts the input of identification information (or names) of therespective electric tools corresponding to the number of electric toolsscheduled to operate simultaneously.

The compressor selection button 302 accepts the input for selectingwhether the air compressor 10 (compressor) is included in the electrictools to be operated. Specifically, each time the compressor selectionbutton 302 accepts the input, the state is switched between a state inwhich the air compressor 10 (compressor) is included in the electrictools scheduled to operate and a state in which the air compressor 10(compressor) is not included.

When the management start button 304 accepts the input, the managementof the respective electric tools is started by the abnormal reportingapplication, and the display is switched to a tool managing screen(described later and in FIG. 4).

Hereinafter, the tool managing screen will be described with referenceto FIG. 4. The tool managing screen displays the input button 301 forinputting the number of simultaneously operating tools, the compressorselection button 302, the tool management setting button 303, and amanagement end button 401.

Here, the tool managing screen represents that the respective electrictools are being managed. Accordingly, it is not preferable to change theelectric tools to be managed. Therefore, the tool managing screendisplays the input button 301 for inputting the number of simultaneouslyoperating tools, the compressor selection button 302, and the toolmanagement setting button 303 in a different manner from those on thetool management setting screen, such that even though the input isselected and accepted by these buttons, such input is ignored.

When the management end button 401 accepts the input, management of therespective electric tools by the abnormality reporting application isended, and the screen is then switched to the tool management settingscreen (described above and in FIG. 3).

FIG. 2 will be referred to again. Upon activation of the abnormalityreporting application, the communication-terminal-side control unit 120of the communication terminal 100 acquires all pieces of identificationinformation of the registered electric tools and inputs the acquiredidentification information to the communication-terminal-sidecommunication unit 160. Then, the communication-terminal-sidecommunication unit 160 establishes the connection via the wirelesscommunication between the input identification information andcorresponding electric tools.

Also, when the management start button 304 described above accepts theinput, the communication-terminal-side control unit 120 generates thelocked-state release request signal for releasing the locked state.Subsequently, the generated locked-state release request signal isbroadcasted by the communication-terminal-side control unit 120 to allof the electric tools with which the connection via the wirelesscommunication is established.

The body side communication unit 39 of each electric tool receives thebroadcasted locked-state release request signal. Then, the body sidecommunication unit 39 of each electric tool inputs the receivedlocked-state release request signal to the controller 62. The controller62 which receives the locked-state release request signal drives themotor 16 of the electric tool and releases the operation lock of theoperation switch 64 of the electric tool to release the locked state.That is, the communication terminal 100 broadcasts the locked-staterelease request signal, so that the locked states of the respectiveelectric tools are collectively released.

After the abnormality reporting application has started the managementof the respective electric tools, the communication-terminal-sidecommunication unit 160 receives operation information (indicating thateach electric tool is in operation) from the respective electric tools.Then, the operation information received by thecommunication-terminal-side communication unit 160 is input to thecommunication-terminal-side control unit 120. Thus, the operation statusof each electric tool can be recognized by the abnormality reportingapplication. Also, the operation information is transmitted from thebody side communication unit 39 to the communication terminal 100 eachtime a trigger (e.g., a trigger of the impact driver 400) for operatingthe electric tool is pulled (or while the trigger is being pulled).

The communication-terminal-side control unit 120 of the communicationterminal 100 determines whether abnormality has occurred in any of theelectric tools with which the connection via the wireless communicationis established.

Note that, when the communication-terminal-side control unit 120 doesnot receive the operation information from the electric tool scheduledto operate, the communication-terminal-side control unit 120 determinesthat abnormality has occurred in this electric tool. For example, sincethe wireless communication cannot be established when the electric toolis brought out of the range in which the electric tools can establishthe wireless communication with the communication terminal 100 or sincethe wireless communication is disconnected when the electric powersupplied to the electric tool is cut off, thecommunication-terminal-side communication unit 160 cannot receive theoperation information from the electric tool. In this case, thecontroller 62 of the electric tool determines by itself that thewireless communication cannot be established and switches the electrictool to the locked state. Also, when the electric tools exceeding thenumber of the electric tools scheduled to operate and of which the inputhas been accepted on the tool management setting screen (described aboveand in FIG. 3) are in operation, the communication-terminal-side controlunit 120 determines that abnormality has occurred in the electric toolfrom which the operation information is received, even though theelectric tool is not scheduled to operate. Specifically, thecommunication-terminal-side control unit 120 determines that abnormalityhas occurred when the operation information is received from theelectric tool other than the electric tool that corresponds to theidentification information (identification information of the electrictools scheduled to operate simultaneously) of which the input has beenaccepted on the tool management setting screen (described above and inFIG. 3). In this case, the communication-terminal-side control unit 120generates a locked-state switch request signal for requesting switchingto the locked state and broadcasts the generated locked-state switchrequest signal to all the electric tools having establishedcommunication via the communication-terminal-side communication unit160. The controller 62 of each electric tool having received thelocked-state switch request signal switches the electric tool to thelocked state. Note that the communication-terminal-side control unit 120may allow the communication-terminal-side communication unit 160 totransmit the locked-state switch request signal to the electric toolsthat are not scheduled to operate simultaneously.

Meanwhile, when the communication-terminal-side control unit 120receives the operation information successively within a predeterminedtime period from the same electric tool (or simultaneously) apredetermined number of times or more (caused by pulling the trigger ofthe electric tool successively within a predetermined time period (orsimultaneously)), the communication-terminal-side control unit 120determines the occurrence of abnormality in the electric tool thatreceives the operation information successively a predetermined numberof times or more (because an abnormal operation that is not executed bythe ordinary operator is being executed). In this case, thecommunication-terminal-side control unit 120 transmits the generatedlocked-state switch request signal to the electric tool in which theoccurrence of abnormality is determined via thecommunication-terminal-side communication unit 160. The controller 62 ofthe electric tool that receives the locked-state switch request signalswitches the electric tool to the locked state.

Also, when the motor 16 of the electric tool has continuously beendriven for a predetermined time period or more, thecommunication-terminal-side control unit 120 determines the occurrenceof abnormality in the electric tool of which the motor 16 hascontinuously been driven for a predetermined time period or more. Inthis case, the communication-terminal-side control unit 120 transmitsthe generated locked-state switch request signal to the electric tool inwhich the occurrence of abnormality is determined via thecommunication-terminal-side communication unit 160. The controller 62 ofthe electric tool that receives the locked-state switch request signalswitches the electric tool to the locked state.

When the communication-terminal-side control unit 120 determines thatabnormality has occurred in any of the electric tools, thecommunication-terminal-side control unit 120 generates a report requestsignal and inputs the generated report request signal to the report unit170 of the communication terminal 100. Then, the report unit 170 of thecommunication terminal 100 to which the report request signal has beeninput from the communication-terminal-side control unit 120 reports theoccurrence of abnormality in the electric tool. Also, thecommunication-terminal-side control unit 120 allows the display unit 140to display the name of the electric tool in which abnormality hasoccurred.

Further, the communication-terminal-side control unit 120 inputs thegenerated report request signal to the communication-terminal-sidecommunication unit 160. The communication-terminal-side communicationunit 160 broadcasts the input report request signal to all of theelectric tools with which the communication is established.

The body side communication unit 39 of the electric tool which hasreceived the transmitted report request signal inputs the receivedreport request signal to the controller 62. The controller 62 whichreceives the report request signal switches the electric tool to thelocked state. Further, the controller 62 allows the report unit 70 ofthe electric tool to report the occurrence of abnormality in theelectric tool. Note that the report unit 70 of the electric tool is anLED lamp, and blinking the LED lamp reports the occurrence ofabnormality in the electric tool.

When the management end button 401 of the tool managing screen(described above and in FIG. 4) accepts the input, the abnormalityreporting application ends the management and switches the display fromthe tool managing screen (described above and in FIG. 4) to the toolmanagement setting screen (described above and in FIG. 3). Also, thecommunication-terminal-side control unit 120 generates the locked-stateswitch request signal. Then, the communication-terminal-side controlunit 120 allows the communication-terminal-side communication unit 160to broadcast the locked-state switch request signal to all of theelectric tools with which the connection via the wireless communicationis established.

The body side communication unit 39 of each electric tool receives thebroadcasted locked-state switch request signal. Then, the body sidecommunication unit 39 inputs the received locked-state switch requestsignal to the controller 62. The controller 62 of each electric toolwhich receives the locked-state switch request signal stops the motor 16of the electric tool and switches to the locked state by locking theoperation of the operation switch 64 of the electric tool. That is, thecommunication terminal 100 broadcasts the locked-state switch requestsignal, so that the respective electric tools are collectively switchedto the locked state.

The air compressor 10 includes an inverter circuit 51 for controlling adriving current toward U-phase, V-phase, and W-phase windings. Theinverter circuit 51 receives electric power through a rectifier circuit54 for rectifying an alternate current from a commercial power source 52to a direct current, and a power factor correction circuit (PFC) 55 forby stepping up the rectified direct current voltage to supply to theinverter circuit 51. The power factor correction circuit 55 includes anIC 56 that outputs a PWM control signal to a transistor Tr formed by aMOSFET to suppress a harmonic current generated in the switching elementof the inverter circuit 51 to a limit value or less. Note that, toprevent transmission of noise generated in the inverter circuit 51 andthe like to the commercial power source, a noise countermeasure circuit53 is provided between the commercial power source 52 and the rectifiercircuit 54.

The inverter circuit 51 of the air compressor 10 is a three-phase fullbridge inverter circuit and includes two switching elements Tr1 and Tr2,two switching elements Tr3 and Tr4, and two switching elements Tr5 andTr6 which are serially connected to each other, and the respectiveswitching elements are connected to positive and negative outputterminals of the power factor correction circuit 55. The three switchingelements Tr1, Tr3, and Tr5 connected to the positive side are high sideelements, and the three switching elements Tr2, Tr4, and Tr6 connectedto the negative side are low side elements. One of the connectingterminals of the U-phase winding is connected between the two switchingelements Tr1 and Tr2. One of the connecting terminals of the V-phasewinding is connected between the two switching elements Tr3 and Tr4. Oneof the connecting terminals of the W-phase winding is connected betweenthe two switching elements Tr5 and Tr6. The other connecting terminalsof the U-phase, V-phase, and W-phase windings are interconnected, andeach winding is in a star connection. Note that the connection may be ina delta connection. The switching elements Tr1 to Tr6 are each formed byMOSFETs.

For example, an electric current is supplied to the U-phase and V-phasewirings when a control signal is supplied to a gate of the high-sideswitching element Tr1 and a gate of the low-side switching element Tr4.Timing of the control signal supplied to each switching element isadjusted to control commutating operation to each winding.

A motor control unit 61 that calculates the control signal to output thecontrol signal to the inverter circuit 51 of the air compressor 10includes the controller 62. The controller 62 is provided on the bodyside control unit 32 which is a control board illustrated in FIG. 6,which will be described later. The controller 62 transmits a controlsignal to the inverter circuit 51 via a control signal output circuit63. The display unit 37 receives the operation by the operator to send asignal indicating on and off of the motor and a rotational number of themotor to the controller 62 via an operation switch detection circuit 65.A detection signal from hall elements S1 to S3 functioning as rotationalposition detection sensors is transmitted to a rotor position detectioncircuit 66. The rotor position detection circuit 66 transmits a signalto a motor rotational number detection circuit 67 which, in turn,outputs a signal corresponding to the motor rotational number to thecontroller 62. A motor current detection circuit 68 for detecting anelectric current flowing in the motor 16 transmits a detection signalcorresponding to the motor current to the controller 62.

The controller 62 includes a microprocessor that calculates the controlsignal, and a memory that stores a control program, calculationexpressions, data, and the like, and the controller 62 is constituted byan energization phase switching control unit for controllingenergization timing for the windings and an advance angle control unitfor advancing the energization timing based on the detection signals ofthe hall elements S1 to S3.

The rotational number of the motor is controlled by adjusting aneffective voltage supplied to each of the windings. The effectivevoltage control for the windings is executed by, for example, executingPWM control of the switching elements to adjust the duty ratio of theon-signal applied to each gate of the switching elements Tr1 to Tr6 ofthe inverter circuit 51. For example, when the duty ratio is set to 10%,10% of the output voltage from the power factor correction circuit 55 issupplied to each of the windings. When the duty ratio is set to 100%,the rotational number of the motor becomes the largest. Thus, thecontroller 62 of the air compressor 10 constitutes the voltage controlunit.

<Detailed Structure>

The air compressor 10 illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 7 as an example of theelectric tool of a first embodiment is a compressor operated by drivingthe motor, and the structure of the compressor 10 is described such thatthe compressor 10 includes two air tanks 12 a and 12 b installed on abase 11 in parallel with each other and legs 13 are attached to thelower surfaces of both ends of the air tanks 12 a and 12 b.

Also, the air compressor 10 is disposed at a predetermined installationposition on portions of the legs 13, and handles 14 a and 14 b areprovided on both ends of the base 11, such that the operator can holdthe handles 14 a and 14 b to carry the air compressor 10. That is, theair compressor 10 is a portable compressor.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, a drive box 15 is installed on the base 11,and the motor 16 is attached to the drive box 15. The motor 16 includesa rotor 18 and a cylindrical stator 19 and is driven by receiving theelectric power from the power source. The motor 16 used in the aircompressor 10 of the first embodiment is, for example, a three-phase ACbrushless motor.

A motor rotational shaft 17 is installed on the rotor 18 to drive acompressed air generation unit 30 as a driven member via the motorrotational shaft 17. The compressed air generation unit 30 generatescompressed air by driving the motor 16.

Also, a plurality of field windings or windings are provided on thestator 19 opposite to the rotor 18. The rotor 18 is incorporated in thestator 19, such that the motor 16 is an inner-rotor-type motor. Thestator 19 is attached to the drive box 15 as a housing for storing themotor 16.

The motor rotational shaft 17 is rotatably supported on the drive box15. Two cylinders 21 a and 21 b are installed on the drive box 15 to beshifted by 180 degrees from each other in the rotational direction ofthe motor rotational shaft 17, and the pistons 22 a and 22 b areincorporated in the cylinders 21 a and 21 b, respectively, in areciprocating manner in the shaft direction.

The pistons 22 a and 22 b are pin-connected with one ends of connectingrods 23 a and 23 b, respectively, in order to convert the rotationalmovement of the motor rotational shaft 17 into reciprocating movement inthe axial direction of the pistons 22 a and 22 b. Eccentric cams 24 aand 24 b mounted on the motor rotational shaft 17 are provided at theother ends of the connecting rods 23 a and 23 b and are eccentricallyarranged in a direction opposite to the reciprocating direction of thepistons 22 a and 22 b, respectively.

Accordingly, when the piston 22 a which is one of the pistons is drivenin a direction to compress drive chambers 25 a and 25 b, the otherpiston 22 b is driven in a direction to expand the drive chambers 25 aand 25 b.

The cylinders 21 a and 21 b are provided with cylinder heads 26 a and 26b, respectively, and the cylinder heads 26 a and 26 b are provided withcheck valves 27 a and 27 b, respectively. When the pistons 22 a and 22 bare driven in a direction to compress the drive chambers 25 a and 25 b,respectively, compressed air is supplied to the air tanks 12 a and 12 bthrough pipes 29 a and 29 b from discharge chambers 28 a and 28 b.

The piston 22 b is a first-stage low pressure piston to introduce andcompress the outside air, and the compressed air compressed by the lowpressure piston 22 b is further compressed by a second-stage highpressure piston 22 a. The cylinders 21 a and 21 b, the pistons 22 a and22 b, and the like which are described above constitute the compressedair generation unit 30, and the rotor 18 of the motor 16 is connected tothe compressed air generation unit 30 via the rotational shaft 17. Whenthe motor 16 drives the compressed air generation unit 30, thecompressed air discharged from the high pressure piston 22 a isaccumulated in the air tanks 12 a and 12 b.

Specifically, the compressed air generation unit 30 generates thecompressed air by the reciprocating movement of the pistons 22 a and 22b due to rotation of the motor 16 and accumulates the compressed airgenerated in the compressed air generation unit 30 in the air tanks(tanks) 12 a and 12 b.

A cooling fan 31 a is attached to one end of the motor rotational shaft17 at a position outside of the motor 16, while a cooling fan 31 b isattached to the other end of the motor rotational shaft 17. The bodyside control unit (control member or main board) 32 which is a controlboard is disposed outside the cooling fan 31 b.

Also, cooling wind generated by the cooling fan 31 a is blown to themotor 16, while cooling wind generated by the cooling fan 31 b is blownto the controller. A cover 33 is provided on the base 11, such that thecompressed air generation unit 30, the motor 16, the air tanks 12 a and12 b, and the like, which are described above, are covered by the cover33, as illustrated in FIGS. 6 to 8.

Couplers 34 a and 34 b are provided above the end portions of the airtanks 12 a and 12 b, respectively, as illustrated in FIG. 5, to supplythe compressed air accumulated in the air tanks 12 a and 12 b to theoutside. Pressure reducing valves 35 a and 35 b are provided in the airtanks 12 a and 12 b, respectively, to adjust the pressure of thecompressed air to be discharged to the outside from the respectivecouplers 34 a and 34 b, and the reduced pressure of the air is indicatedon a pressure gauges 36 a and 36 b and the display unit 37.

The body side control unit (control member or main board) 32 mainlycontrols the driving of the motor 16 or the air compression operation inthe compressed air generation unit 30. Such control is executed by thecontroller 62, which is described above and illustrated in FIG. 2,functioning as a controlling microcomputer chip provided in thecontroller 62.

FIG. 8 is a side view illustrating an example structure of the aircompressor 10 when a cover is removed. As illustrated in FIG. 8, thebody side communication unit 39 includes a transmission/reception unit39 a that transmits/receives wireless signals, and the body sidecommunication unit 39 is electrically connected to thetransmission/reception unit 39 a via a connection cable 69. Thetransmission/reception unit 39 a is installed so as to be exposed fromthe cover 33. Note that the transmission/reception unit 39 a may bemounted on the body side communication unit 39. Alternatively, thetransmission/reception unit 39 a may be provided inside the handles 14 aand 14 b. Moreover, the transmission/reception unit 39 a may be attachedto be exposed from the handles 14 a and 14 b. Further, the body sidecommunication unit 39 may be provided on the controller. Furthermore,the body side communication unit 39 may be disposed at a position lesssusceptible to noise. Specifically, the body side communication unit 39may be disposed at a position away from a range between the commercialpower source 52 and the rectifier circuit 54 illustrated in FIG. 2.Also, the body side communication unit 39 may be disposed at a positionaway from the power factor correction circuit (PFC) 55, the invertercircuit 51, and the motor 16, which are described above and illustratedin FIG. 2.

Note that the controller 62 is disposed at an innermost position insidethe cover 33 (inside the air compressor body), while the display unit 37and the body side communication unit 39 are installed on the cover 33 ofthe air compressor body. Also, the display unit 37 has the displaysurface arranged so as to be exposed from the cover 33. Also, the bodyside communication unit 39 is disposed under the display unit 37, suchthat the body side communication unit 39 and the display unit 37 arestacked.

Thus, the transmission/reception unit 39 a, the display unit 37, and thebody side communication unit 39 of the air compressor 10 are provided inthe vicinity of the cover 33. In this regard, the body sidecommunication unit 39 and the display unit 37 may be arranged, forexample, side by side.

<Overall Processing>

FIG. 9 illustrates an outline of overall processing according to theembodiment of the present invention. Note that the overall processingstarts when the abnormality reporting application installed in thecommunication terminal 100 is activated. In the following description,it is assumed that all of the electric tools that have established theconnection with the communication terminal 100 via the wirelesscommunication are turned on.

First, in S901, the display unit 140 of the communication terminal 100displays the tool management setting screen (described above and in FIG.3). Then, the communication-terminal-side control unit 120 of thecommunication terminal 100 acquires all pieces of identificationinformation of the registered electric tools and inputs each piece ofthe acquired identification information to thecommunication-terminal-side communication unit 160. Then, thecommunication-terminal-side communication unit 160 establishes theconnection via the wireless communication with each of the electrictools corresponding to each piece of the input identificationinformation.

Next, in S902, the communication-terminal-side control unit 120determines whether the input has been accepted by the management startbutton 304 on the tool management setting screen. If thecommunication-terminal-side control unit 120 determines that the inputhas not been accepted by the management start button 304 in S902 (No atS902), the process returns to S902. Meanwhile, if thecommunication-terminal-side control unit 120 determines that the inputhas been accepted by the management start button 304 in S902 (Yes atS902), the process proceeds to S903.

Next, in S903, the communication-terminal-side control unit 120generates the locked-state release request signal to release the lockedstate. Then, the generated locked-state release request signal isbroadcasted by the communication-terminal-side control unit 120 to allof the electric tools with which the connection via the wirelesscommunication is established in S902. Note that the locked-state releaserequest signal may be unicasted by the communication-terminal-sidecontrol unit 120 to each of the electric tools with which the connectionvia the wireless communication is established.

Next, in S904, the body side communication unit 39 receives thelocked-state release request signal transmitted in S903. Then, the bodyside communication unit 39 inputs the received locked-state releaserequest signal to the controller 62. Having received the locked-staterelease request signal, the controller 62 stops the motor 16 of theelectric tool and locks the operation of the operation switch 64 of theelectric tool to release the locked state. Note that, instead ofreleasing the locked state after the reception of the locked-staterelease request signal, the controller 62 may release the locked statewhen the trigger for driving the motor 16 of the electric tool is pulledafter the connection via the wireless communication is established inS902.

Next, in S905, the abnormality reporting application starts themanagement of the electric tools, and the display is switched from thetool management setting screen (described above and in FIG. 3) to thetool managing screen (described above and in FIG. 4).

Next, in S906, the communication-terminal-side communication unit 160receives the operation information from each of the electric tools (theoperation information indicates that the electric tools are inoperation). Then, the operation information received by thecommunication-terminal-side communication unit 160 is input to thecommunication-terminal-side control unit 120. Accordingly, theabnormality reporting application can recognize the operation status ofeach electric tool.

Next, in S907, the communication-terminal-side control unit 120 of thecommunication terminal 100 determines whether abnormality has occurredin any of the electric tools that have established connection via thewireless communication in S902. In S907, if thecommunication-terminal-side control unit 120 determines that abnormalityhas not occurred in any of the electric tools (No in S907), the processproceeds to S913. Meanwhile, in

S907, if the communication-terminal-side control unit 120 determinesthat abnormality has occurred in any of the electric tool (Yes in S907),the process proceeds to S908.

Next, in S908, the communication-terminal-side control unit 120generates the report request signal and inputs the generated reportrequest signal to the report unit 170. Also, thecommunication-terminal-side control unit 120 inputs the generated reportrequest signal to the communication-terminal-side communication unit160.

Next, in S909, the communication-terminal-side control unit 120 causesthe report unit 170 of the communication terminal 100 to report theoccurrence of abnormality in the electric tool. Also, thecommunication-terminal-side control unit 120 causes the display unit 140to display the name of the electric tool in which abnormality hasoccurred.

Next, in S910, the communication-terminal-side communication unit 160broadcasts the input report request signal to all of the electric toolswith which the communication is established. Note that thecommunication-terminal-side communication unit 160 may transmit thereport request signal to all of the electric tools with which thecommunication is established and other than the electric tool in whichthe occurrence of abnormality is determined in S907. Also, thecommunication-terminal-side communication unit 160 may transmit thereport request signal to all of the electric tools scheduled to operateand other than the electric tool in which the occurrence of abnormalityis determined in S907.

Next, in S911, the body side communication unit 39 of the electric toolhaving received the report request signal transmitted in S910 inputs thereceived report request signal to the controller 62. The controller 62having received the report request signal switches the electric tools tothe locked state. Note that, if the report request signal is transmittedin S910 to all of the electric tools with which the communication isestablished and other than the electric tool in which the occurrence ofabnormality is determined, the controller 62 switches all of theelectric tools with which the communication is established and otherthan the electric tools in which the occurrence of abnormality isdetermined to the locked state. Also, if the report request signal istransmitted in S910 to all of the electric tools scheduled to operateand other than the electric tool in which the occurrence of abnormalityis determined, the controller 62 switches all of the electric toolsscheduled to operate and other than the electric tool in which theoccurrence of abnormality is determined to the locked state.

Next, in S912, the controller 62 causes the report unit 70 of theelectric tool to report the occurrence of abnormality in the electrictool.

Next, in S913, the communication-terminal-side control unit 120determines whether the management end button 401 of the tool managingscreen (described above and in FIG. 4) has accepted the input. If thecommunication-terminal-side control unit 120 determines that themanagement end button 401 has not accepted the input in S913 (No atS913), the process returns to S906 to repeat the process. Meanwhile, ifthe communication-terminal-side control unit 120 determines that themanagement end button 401 has accepted the input (Yes at S913), theprocess proceeds to S914.

Next, in S914, the abnormality reporting application ends themanagement, and the display is switched from the tool managing screen(described above and in FIG. 4) to the tool management setting screen(described above and in FIG. 3). Also, the communication-terminal-sidecontrol unit 120 generates the locked-state switch request signal. Then,the locked-state switch request signal is broadcasted by thecommunication-terminal-side control unit 120 to all of the electrictools with which the connection via the wireless communication isestablished. Note that the locked-state switch request signal may beunicasted by the communication-terminal-side control unit 120 to each ofthe electric tools with which the connection via the wirelesscommunication is established.

Next, in S915, the communication-terminal-side control unit 120determines whether the management of the electric tools has ended. Ifthe communication-terminal-side control unit 120 determines that themanagement of the electric tools has not ended in S915 (No at S915), theprocess proceeds to S902. Meanwhile, if the communication-terminal-sidecontrol unit 120 determines that the management of the electric toolshas ended (Yes at S915), the overall processing ends. Note that thecommunication-terminal-side control unit 120 determines that themanagement of the electric tools has ended when receiving the input toterminate the abnormality reporting application, or when the powersource of the communication terminal 100 is turned off.

Also, instead of reporting by the report unit 170 in S909 and reportingby the report unit 70 in S912, the reporting may be executed by at leastone of the report unit 170 and the report unit 70.

<Effect of Embodiment>

According to the abnormality reporting system of the embodimentdescribed above, when the communication-terminal-side control unit 120determines that abnormality has occurred in any of the electric tools,the occurrence of abnormality in the electric tool may be reported by atleast one of the report unit 70 of the electric tool other than theelectric tool in which the occurrence of abnormality is determined andthe report unit 170 of the communication terminal 100, so that theoccurrence of abnormality in the electric tool can be immediatelyreported to the operator.

Also, the communication-terminal-side communication unit 160 transmitsthe report request signal to all of the electric tools other than theelectric tool in which the occurrence of abnormality is determined, suchthat the occurrence of abnormality in the electric tool can be reportedto many operators.

Also, the communication-terminal-side control unit 120 determines thatabnormality has occurred in the electric tool when the wirelesscommunication is disconnected, such that the event that the electrictool is brought out of the range in which the electric tools canestablish the communication with the communication terminal 100 can bereported to the operator.

Also, the communication-terminal-side control unit 120 determines thatabnormality has occurred in the electric tool when the electric toolsexceeding the number of electric tools scheduled to operate are inoperation, such that it is possible to report to the operator that anoutsider has entered the work site and operated the electric tool.

Also, the communication-terminal-side control unit 120 determines thatabnormality has occurred in the electric tool when the electric powersupplied to the electric tool is cut off, such that the occurrence ofabnormality in the electric tool can be reported more immediately to theoperator.

Also, the communication-terminal-side control unit 120 determines thatabnormality has occurred in the electric tool when the trigger of theelectric tool is pulled successively within the predetermined timeperiod or simultaneously, such that the event that the abnormaloperation that is not executed by the operator has been executed can bereported to the operator.

Also, the controller 62 stops the electric tool when receiving thereport request signal and switches to the locked state in which theoperation of the electric tool is locked, such that the operation of theelectric tool in which abnormality has occurred can be prevented.

Also, the controller 62 releases the locked state while the electrictool is connected to the communication terminal 100 via the wirelesscommunication, and switches to the locked state when the wirelesscommunication is disconnected, such that the security of the electrictools can be increased.

Also, the controller 62 releases the locked state when the electric toolis connected with the communication terminal 100 via the wirelesscommunication and then, the trigger of the electric tool is pulled, suchthat the operation of the electric tool that has actually been operatedcan be started.

In the foregoing, the invention made by the inventors of the presentinvention has been concretely described based on the embodiments.However, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limitedto the foregoing embodiments and various modifications and alterationscan be made within the scope of the present invention.

EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS

1 . . . electric tool, 10 . . . air compressor, 11 . . . base, 12 a, 12b . . . air tank, 13 . . . leg, 14 a, 14 b . . . handle, 15 . . . drivebox, 16 . . . motor, 17 . . . motor rotational shaft, 18 . . . rotor, 19. . . stator, 21 a, 21 b . . . cylinder, 22 a, 22 b . . . piston, 23 a,23 b . . . connecting rod, 24 a, 24 b . . . eccentric cam, 25 a, 25 b .. . drive chamber, 26 a, 26 b . . . cylinder head, 27 a, 27 b . . .check valve, 28 a, 28 b . . . discharge chamber, 29 a, 29 b . . . pipe,30 . . . compressed air generation unit, 31 a, 31 b . . . cooling fan,32 . . . body side control unit, 33 . . . cover, 34 a, 34 b . . .coupler, 35 a, 35 b pressure reducing valve, 37 . . . display unit, 39 .. . body side communication unit, 39 a . . . transmission/receptionunit, 41 . . . permanent magnet, 42 . . . base unit, 43 . . . arm, 44 .. . winding, 51 . . . inverter circuit, 52 . . . commercial powersource, 54 . . . rectifier circuit, 55 . . . power factor correctioncircuit (PFC), 56 . . . IC, 57 . . . voltage detection circuit, 61 . . .motor control unit, 62 . . . controller, 63 . . . control signal outputcircuit, 64 . . . operation switch, 65 . . . operation switch detectioncircuit, 66 . . . rotor position detection circuit, 67 . . . motorrotational number detection circuit, 68 . . . motor current detectioncircuit, 69 . . . connection cable, 70 . . . report unit, 100 . . .communication terminal, 110 . . . power source unit, 120 . . .communication-terminal-side control unit, 130 . . . image processingunit, 140 . . . display unit, 150 . . . input unit, 160 . . .communication-terminal-side communication unit, 170 . . . report unit.

1. A system comprising: a plurality of electric devices including at least a power tool; and a communication terminal connected to the electric devices via wireless communication, wherein the communication terminal includes a communication-terminal-side control unit that determines whether abnormality has occurred in any of the electric devices based on information acquired from the electric devices via the wireless communication, and when the communication-terminal-side control unit determines that abnormality has occurred in any of the electric devices, the occurrence of abnormality in the electric device is reported by a report unit included in the electric device other than the electric device in which the occurrence of abnormality is determined.
 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the communication-terminal-side control unit generates a report request signal when determining that abnormality has occurred in any of the electric devices, the communication terminal includes a communication-terminal-side communication unit that transmits the report request signal generated by the communication-terminal-side control unit to the electric devices other than the electric device in which the occurrence of abnormality is determined, and the report unit of the electric device reports the occurrence of abnormality in the electric device when receiving the report request signal.
 3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the communication-terminal-side communication unit transmits the report request signal to all of the electric devices other than the electric device in which the occurrence of abnormality is determined.
 4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the communication-terminal-side control unit determines that abnormality has occurred in the electric device when the wireless communication is disconnected.
 5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the communication terminal includes an input unit that accepts an input of a number representing the number of the electric devices scheduled to operate, and the communication-terminal-side control unit determines that the abnormality has occurred in the electric device when the electric devices exceeding the number of the electric devices scheduled to operate are in operation.
 6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the communication-terminal-side control unit determines that abnormality has occurred in the electric device when an electric power supplied to the electric device is cut off.
 7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the communication-terminal-side control unit determines that abnormality has occurred in the electric device when a trigger of the electric device is pulled number of times larger than a predetermined number of times successively within a predetermined period of time or simultaneously.
 8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the communication-terminal-side control unit determines that abnormality has occurred in the electric device when a motor of the electric device has continuously operated for a predetermined time period or more.
 9. The system according to claim 2, wherein the electric device includes a body side control unit that stops the electric device and switches to a locked state in which the operation of the electric device is locked when receiving the report request signal.
 10. The system according to claim 1, wherein the electric device includes a body side control unit that releases a locked state of the electric device while the electric device is connected to the communication terminal via the wireless communication, stops the electric device, and switches to the locked state in which the operation of the electric device is locked when the wireless communication is disconnected.
 11. The abnormality reporting system according to claim 1, wherein the electric device includes a body side control unit that releases a locked state of the electric device when the electric device is connected to the communication terminal via the wireless communication and then, a trigger of the electric device is pulled.
 12. The system according to claim 1, wherein the report unit of the electric device is an LED lamp, and blinking the LED lamp reports the occurrence of abnormality in the electric device.
 13. The system according to claim 1, wherein the electric device is an air compressor.
 14. The system according to claim 1, wherein the electric device is a cordless electric tool.
 15. The system according to claim 1, wherein the electric device is operated by an electric power supplied from an AC power source.
 16. A system comprising: a plurality of electric devices including at least a power tool; and a communication terminal connected to the electric devices via wireless communication, wherein the communication terminal includes a communication-terminal-side control unit that determines whether abnormality has occurred in any of the electric devices based on information acquired from the electric devices via the wireless communication, when the communication-terminal-side control unit determines that abnormality has occurred in any of the electric devices, the occurrence of abnormality in the electric device is reported by at least one of a report unit included in the electric device other than the electric device in which the occurrence of abnormality is determined and a report unit included in the communication terminal, wherein the communication terminal includes an input unit that accepts an input of a number representing the number of the electric devices scheduled to operate, and the communication-terminal-side control unit determines that the abnormality has occurred in the electric device when the electric devices exceeding the number of the electric devices scheduled to operate are in operation.
 17. A system comprising: a plurality of electric devices including at least a power tool; and a communication terminal connected to the electric devices via wireless communication, wherein the communication terminal includes a communication-terminal-side control unit that determines whether abnormality has occurred in any of the electric devices based on information acquired from the electric devices via the wireless communication, when the communication-terminal-side control unit determines that abnormality has occurred in any of the electric devices, the occurrence of abnormality in the electric device is reported by a report unit included in the electric device other than the electric device in which the occurrence of abnormality is determined, wherein the report unit of the electric device is an LED lamp, and blinking the LED lamp reports the occurrence of abnormality in the electric device. 